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A cease-fire between Israel and Palestinian militants took effect late Sunday in a bid to end nearly three days of violence that killed dozens of Palestinians and disrupted the lives of hundreds of thousands of Israelis, Associated Press reported.

The flare-up was the worst fighting between Israel and Gaza militant groups since Israel and Hamas fought an 11-day war last year, and adds to the destruction and misery that have plagued blockaded Gaza for years.

The Egyptian-brokered cease-fire took effect at 11:30 p.m. (2030 GMT; 4:30 p.m. EDT). Israeli strikes and militant rockets continued in the minutes leading up to the beginning of the truce, and Israel said it would “respond strongly” if the cease-fire was violated.

Israeli aircraft have pummeled targets in Gaza since Friday, while the Iran-backed Palestinian Jihad militant group has fired hundreds of rockets at Israel in response. The risk of the cross-border fighting turning into a full-fledged war remained as long as no truce was reached. Israel says some of the dead were killed by misfired rockets.

Gaza’s ruling Hamas group remained on the sidelines, possibly because it fears Israeli reprisals and undoing economic understandings with Israel, including Israeli work permits for thousands of Gaza residents, that bolster its control. 

Israel launched its operation with a strike Friday on a leader of the Islamic Jihad, and followed up on Saturday with another targeted strike on a second prominent leader.

The second Islamic Jihad commander, Khaled Mansour, was killed in an airstrike on an apartment building in the Rafah refugee camp in southern Gaza late Saturday, which also killed two other militants and five civilians. 

Mansour, the Islamic Jihad commander for southern Gaza, was in the apartment of a member of the group when the missile struck, flattening the three-story building and badly damaging nearby houses, according to Associated Press.

“Suddenly, without warning, the house next to us was bombed and everything became black and dusty with smoke in the blink of an eye,” said Wissam Jouda, who lives next to the targeted building.

Ahmed al-Qaissi, another neighbor, said his wife and son were among the wounded, suffering shrapnel injuries. To make way for rescue workers, al-Qaissi agreed to have part of his house demolished.

As a funeral for Mansour began in the Gaza Strip on Sunday, the Israeli military said it was striking suspected “Islamic Jihad rocket launch posts.” Smoke could be seen from the strikes as thumps from their explosions rattled Gaza. Israeli airstrikes and rocket fire followed for hours as sirens wailed in central Israel. As the sunset call to prayer sounded in Gaza, sirens wailed as far north as Tel Aviv.

Israel says some of the deaths during this round were caused by errant rocket fire, including one incident in the Jebaliya refugee camp in northern Gaza in which six Palestinians were killed Saturday. On Sunday, a projectile hit a home in the same area of Jebaliya, killing two men. Palestinians held Israel responsible, while Israel said it was investigating whether the area was struck by an errant rocket.

Israel’s Defense Ministry said mortars fired from Gaza hit the Erez border crossing into Israel, used by thousands of Gazans daily. The mortars damaged the roof and shrapnel hit the hall’s entrance, the ministry said. The crossing has been closed amid the fighting. 

The Rafah strike was the deadliest so far in the current round of fighting, which was initiated by Israel on Friday with the targeted killing of Islamic Jihad’s commander for northern Gaza.

Israel said it took action against the militant group because of concrete threats of an imminent attack, but has not provided details. Caretaker Prime Minister Yair Lapid, who is an experienced diplomat but untested in overseeing a war, unleashed the offensive less than three months before a general election in which he is campaigning to keep the job, Associated Press reported.

In a statement Sunday, Lapid said the military would continue to strike targets in Gaza “in a pinpoint and responsible way in order to reduce to a minimum the harm to noncombatants.” Lapid said the strike that killed Mansour was “an extraordinary achievement.”

“The operation will continue as long as necessary,” Lapid said.

US President Joe Biden said he welcomed the ceasefire between Israel and Gaza-based militants.

China says it is carrying out new military exercises in the Yellow and Bohai seas after a barrage of drills that encircled Taiwan in recent days, BBC reported.

The initial exercises were triggered by Beijing's fury at a visit to Taipei by the US House Speaker, Nancy Pelosi.

Taiwan has accused China of practising for an invasion of the island, which Beijing sees as its own.

On Sunday a senior Chinese military analyst said China would now conduct "regular" military drills near Taiwan.

China sees Taiwan as a breakaway province that will eventually be under Beijing's control. But Taiwan is a self-ruled island that sees itself as distinct from the mainland.

Any hint of recognition of this by world leaders, however, enrages China.

With the series of military drills around Taiwan expected to finish on Sunday, the Chinese maritime authorities announced that a number of other military drills are being carried out in other locations.

In the Yellow Sea - located between China and the Korean peninsula - new daily military drills were due to start from Saturday until the middle of August, and include live-fire exercises, according to BBC.

In addition, a month-long military operation in one area of the Bohai sea - off China's east coast - started on Saturday. A separate military drill also took place in the northern part of the Bohai sea.

The announcements come as a senior military analyst quoted in Chinese state media said China would conduct "regular" military drills on the eastern side of the median line in the Taiwan Strait from now on. The median line is an unofficial buffer separating the two sides.

The exercises were expected to end by midday on Sunday, but neither China nor Taiwan has confirmed their conclusion.

Taiwan's transport ministry, however, said most of its airline and sailing routes could gradually resume as of midday on Sunday.

But it added that it would continue to direct flights away from one of the drill zones until Monday morning.

In Taiwan, people have largely reacted to China's actions over the last four days with a large shrug.

Videos posted on social media showed hundreds of people enjoying a large street party on Saturday night in one of Taiwan's outlying islands close to the Chinese coast, BBC reported.

The collective message to Beijing seems to be that its intimidation will not work.

But military analysts have not been so sanguine.

Chinese and Taiwanese warships played high-seas "cat and mouse" on Sunday ahead of the scheduled end of four days of unprecedented Chinese military exercises launched in reaction to a visit to Taiwan by the US house speaker, Reuters reported.

Nancy Pelosi's visit last week to the self-ruled island infuriated China, which responded with test launches of ballistic missiles over the island's capital for the first time and the cutting of communication links with the United States.

Some 10 warships each from China and Taiwan sailed at close quarters in the Taiwan Strait, with some Chinese vessels crossing the median line, an unofficial buffer separating the two sides, according to a person with knowledge of the matter.

The island's defence ministry said in a release multiple Chinese military ships, aircraft, and drones were simulating attacks on the island and its navy. It said it had sent aircraft and ships to react "appropriately".

As Chinese forces "pressed" the line, as they did on Saturday, the Taiwan side stayed close to monitor and, where possible, deny the Chinese the ability to cross, the person said.

"The two sides are showing restraint, the person said, describing the manoeuvres as high seas "cat and mouse".

"One side tries to cross, and the other stands in the way and forces them to a more disadvantaged position and eventually return to the other side."

Taiwan said its shore-based anti-ship missiles and its Patriot surface -to-air-missiles were on stand-by.

The Chinese exercises, centred on six locations around the island that China claims as its own, began on Thursday and are scheduled to last until midday on Sunday, the official Xinhua News Agency reported last week, according to Reuters.

China's military said on Saturday the sea and air joint exercises, north, southwest and east of Taiwan, had a focus on land-strike and sea-assault capabilities.

The United States called the exercises an escalation.

"These activities are a significant escalation in China's efforts to change the status quo. They are provocative, irresponsible and raise the risk of miscalculation," a White House spokesperson said.

"They are also at odds with our long-standing goal of maintaining peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait, which is what the world expects."

Vice President Nanda Bahadur Pun has congratulated the newly-elected Vice President of India Jagdeep Dhankhar and wished him a successful term in office. 

In a message of best wishes sent to the Indian Vice President today, Vice President Pun has expressed the confidence that the multi-faceted relations between Nepal and India would be further strengthened and expanded during Vice President Dhankhar's tenure, according to Manoj Ghartimagar, the Vice President Pun's press coordinator.

Dhankhar is the 14th Vice President of India. He secured 528 votes out of the 710 valid votes in the 16th Vice-Presidential election held in the Indian Parliament on Saturday.